Not very many photographers are fortunate enough to be granted access to shoot the Olympic Games. Those who always are seem to come home with entertaining stories, and amazing images. The rest of us must live vicariously through them.

Samy's Camera and Nikon will be hosting a lecture by four accomplished and renowned sports photographers who recently returned from The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Robert Beck and John McDonough of Sports Illustrated, Rod Mar of the Seattle Times, and Robert Hanashiro of USA Today will show images from the Games and talk about what it's like to work in the Olympics environment, on Thursday, November 6th 2008.

"I am basically going to play the ringmaster for Robert, Rod and John and moderate this wonderful panel," said Robert Hanashiro. "I'll show some of my work and show some behind-the-scenes video I shot with my little point & shoot camera. My role will be to give the people attending a sense of what we go through to cover the world's biggest sports event."

"This was my first chance to cover the Summer Olympics, and so every day was an eye-opening challenge," Rod Mar said. "I did some things right, I made some mistakes -- I'll talk about both the successes and the failures."

"You know, every team needs a good bench player," said Robert Beck. "That was my role at the Olympics. I didn't cover The Dream Boy (Michael Phelps), The Dream Kids (various small gymnastic types) nor the Dream Team (the dunk studs from the NBA). That's cool. I know my place in lesser history."

Beck's assignments included a list of diverse sports, such as cycling, volleyball, wrestling, fencing, judo, water polo, team handball, and track and field. Each sport comes with it's own challenges and shooting strategies.

"I enjoy making pictures and there were plenty to made in Beijing," said Beck. "It's not easy either. One spends an inordinate amount of time traveling to and from venues and a great deal of time trying to get a good shot while there. Photographers are very limited in what they can do, where they can go and how they can shoot at the Olympics. But we had a job to do so you keep on working at it."

Photo by Kojohiro Kinno with his iPhoneSports Illustrated's Robert Beck gets his gear ready in his home office before heading to China to photograph the 2008 Olympic Games.

"For me, having Robert Beck, Rod Mar and John McDonough on the same stage makes this a "must-see" event," said Hanashiro. "These guys are not only the top photographers working but also funny, informative, inspiring and yes, maybe even a little biting. The interplay between these three will be something any student or photographer will not want to miss."

"It's kind of selfish," said Hanashiro. "One of the reasons why I love to be a part of these kinds of programs is that I get to see the work of other great photographers and most of all, hear them talk about it. The diversity of this panel will be the most interesting part of this program."

There will be a meet and greet with the photographers during a reception at 6:30pm and Nikon will be on hand with all their latest equipment. Following the lecture there will be a question and answer session with the photographers.

Those interested in attending this event need to register by October 23rd. It is being held at the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Avenue, in West Hollywood, California.

The registration process includes a fee of $25 to hold your spot, and Samy's Camera will issue a gift card to all paid attendees for the same value. Admission for students is free, and any student who wishes to attend should contact Meila Penn at mpenn@samys.com.